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submitted 11 months ago by Sandra@idiomdrottning.org to c/permacomputing

Yeah, I have a PPC laptop that this happened to a few years back, which felt way too soon. It's in perfect working condition except for the battery.

@activistPnk @permacomputing

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[-] tallship 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

You're the OP of a topic but it looks like you intended to respond to another topic or post - it takes a bit, but you'll get the hang of it :)

The reason I'm responding though, is really to let you know that sourcing via eBay can be quite effective for older batteries/form factors. Don't be discouraged if you can't find what you're looking for if you don't at first see it. You can always set up an alert w/a couple of different search terms and sit back until you get an email notification telling you that one has been listed :)

I do that with a lot of older, retrotech equipment and accessories, and it works like a champ.

Also, in order to not let your emotions get the best of you (behavioral psychology is an interesting thing), if your item (the battery) isn't listed as a *Buy Now item, then I would recommend you use a sniper - Auction Sniper and EZsniper are just a couple that I've used that worked quite well. In a nutshell, here's how they secure the items that you want:

  • First, you decide what YOU feel is the value of the item that is up for auction. This will be the highest amount you are willing to spend.
  • You enter that amount into the sniper application along with the item number and submit it. The sniper will follow the auction for you and autobid whenever someone outbids you. Configuring the auction for the last few seconds is critical to success, as it removes the ability of an actual human to respond with a higher bid before the auction times out (the default is usually fine).
  • Like Ron Popeil's rotisserie oven - just "Set it and forget it".
  • When the auction has completed, the sniper will notify you as to whether you have won or lost the auction. At this point you can pay for the item and it will ship to you.
  • HINT: Batteries are typically somewhat inexpensive in the first place. Let's say you know it should go for $20 but no more than $30 - other people using snipers know this too so they might be apt to snag a deal at setting their max bid for $28 or so, But even if no one else is using a sniper and an adrenaline induced bidding war starts in the last ten minutes of the auction, and considering that your first bid won't be entered until the final 3 seconds or so, setting a rather outrageous max bid of say, $50 will almost assuredly result in you winning the item, in this example, for $29.00 (a dollar higher than the other person using a sniper).

Easy Peasy

There are also some retro computing sites that list obscure items, but given the obscurity of them nowadays due to the gamification of search engines, they may be a little hard to find, but...

You're already here at SDF, so your membership allows you access to dozens of resources like forums and such where you can ask around for these marketplaces where there's a wealth of older retrocomputing technology for sale/trade.

I hope that helps!

#tallship

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this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2023
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"In a time where computing epitomizes industrial waste, permacomputing encourages the maximizing of hardware lifespans, minimizing energy use and focussing on the use of already available computational resources." (from the permacomputing wiki)

See also: !permacomputing@slrpnk.net

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